Living in the Lot

Friday, 18 November 2016

During his campaign Trump lied every time he opened his
mouth but in the world of post-truth politics none of his supporters care!

He has insulted, Mexicans, muslims, blacks, latinos and
women. He has incited violence from the gun lobby at his rallies, he cast doubt
on the electoral process, saying that he would not accept the result if he lost, and he repeatedly accused Hillary Clinton of being a crook. He sacked his
campaign managers when they tried to advise him. He has promised things that
will never happen and probably not said what he really wants to do. But his supporters don’t care!

What he has succeeded in doing is to ride a wave of anti-establishment
discontent among the poorer paid resulting from their declining wealth due to globalisation and the closing of traditional industries. So in protest they have elected an unscrupulous billionaire to represent them who will cut taxes for businesses and the rich, do nothing for the lower paid and dismantle healthcare reforms. This is just like Brexit, where labour voters in the north
of England voted for the "Leave" liars because they could see their real incomes falling and public services disappearing. In a master stroke of populism the brexiteers blamed this on immigrants instead of Tory austerity policies. So traditional Labour voters will now live under the most right wing government
since Thatcher, which will cut public services even more and will also allow wages to stagnate, because after Brexit they'll have lower growth, less corporate taxes and very limited choices. Meanwhile inflation will rise cutting real incomes still further.

There no longer appears to be a place in the politics of the
English speaking world for reasoned discussion and debate. You can lie your way
to power either with false promises or by creating false scare stories. I fear that we appear to be witnessing some sort of revolution in which voters
no longer question, or even need to believe, what candidates say so long as they confirm their supporters’
prejudices at every opportunity. Nothing good ever came from revolutions unless, of course,
you like and approve of the violence and the inevitable authoritarian rule
which follows.

It’s impossible to know what
Trump will do in office, but I’m sure that he’s more dangerous than bumbling, lying Boris Johnson. The media and politicians appear to have accepted that post-truth "Trumpism" is the new normal and seem prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. We will have to wait and see how he handles the inevitable
crises that will soon come, particularly from the East and his friend Putin. Expect some sabre rattling on the borders of the Baltic States.Hillary Clinton won 1.5 million more votes than Trump in the popular vote, but due to the USA's electoral college system she lost the election. I can't help thinking that if she had won, Trump and his supporters would be claiming the result was fixed, screaming for a McCarthy style witch hunt and dreaming up grounds for impeachment. Liberal minded Democrats don't do that, but perhaps they should learn quickly how to fight loud and dirty! Meanwhile the only thing that reasonable and rational people can do is to challenge every lie that you hear from whatever source!

Saturday, 5 November 2016

Now, amidst a media storm following the announcement of the High Court judgement requiring the government to obtain the consent of Parliament before triggering the start of the brexit negotiations, the foreign-owned right wing tabloid press accuse High Court judges of being enemies of the people for protecting parliamentary sovereignty. But even Nigel Farage has agreed that the brexit referendum was only advisory and not legally binding and so it needs a formal legal process, in the form of an Act of Parliament, to confirm it. What are we seeing here: ignorance, stupidity, arrogance, doublethink, or the first steps on the road
to authoritarian rule by editors of the tabloids behind their chosen right wing leaders? In choosing their headline in 2016 did the Daily Mail deliberately intend to use the tactics of the Nazis in 1933?

What do they want, an executive who can overrule parliament when it suits them, or when the unelected tabloid press want them to?They claim that brexit means taking back sovereignty from the EU but what sort of sovereignty? The UK is a parliamentary democracy which was established over
centuries through hard fought battles between Parliament and the King, including a bloody civil war in which many died. But the tabloids, by launching personal attacks on the judges who supported the supremacy of Parliament, appear to want to throw out all that in favour of
government by referendum and executive decree.

It’s a dangerous road to start down. People don’t vote in
referendums because they've made a careful evaluation of the facts. They vote
from their emotional instincts and they are easily whipped up by populist
politicians who invent lies to support their case and pour scorn on experts. But
then the tabloids know this because they were part of it during the brexit campaign, as were some
government ministers!

And why are ministers silent concerning the hysterical
reaction of the tabloids? Could it be
that they are scared of the damage that they could suffer as a result of
challenging them, or is it because the tabloids are favouring the government’s position?

It’s in the nature of executive power to want total control
and that’s why any democracy has checks and balances built into it, like an
independent judiciary and a second chamber in Parliament. If you undermine these safeguards you are facilitating the would-be populist leaders who don't tolerate opposition or reasoned discussion.

Both the government and the tabloids should remember that 48% voted Remain and that the 52% who voted Leave does not represent
an overwhelming mandate in favour of a hard brexit. Brexiteers, by talking up their case in this way, like May did at the Tory conference, or the right wing press is now doing, are likely to provoke a backlash. Perhaps the High Court judgement is the trigger.

This whole episode is yet another example of the press exerting power without responsibility “the prerogative of the harlot
down the ages”!

Saturday, 1 October 2016

After Johnson and Gove’s Brexit lies and, following
with interest, and some horror, Donald Trump’s presidential bid, I've come to
a better understanding of the method of campaigning that has been labelled “Post-Truth Politics”.First you invent a lie which a significant
number of people are likely to believe.

Next you repeat it frequently to
your followers.

If you are eventually challenged
that you have lied, you change the subject or brush it off with an insult (Trump), or a shrug of the shoulders, or a bit of good natured humour (Johnson), or you pour scorn on the expert who
is trying to correct you (Gove).

Then you continue to repeat the lie.

By the time it’s become absolutely clear
that you have lied, you have established a new post-truth factoid which your
followers now firmly believe.

Meanwhile you invent another lie and
keep the process moving on.

If you are fortunate, this extremely cynical approach to
campaigning will result in personal rewards such as the post of Foreign
Secretary for Johnson (why Teresa?) or even more worrying President of the
USA!!

In the UK, the post-truth age has its roots in the “Spin” that became a normal
and even an essential part of Tony Blair’s period in office. Post-truth politics is taking to extremes the
selective portrayal of facts and the burying of bad news commonly practised by the Spin Doctors in Blair’s government.

It’s no wonder that many younger people don’t trust
politicians and don’t feel that they are
represented by anyone.

On the day after the referendum result was declared Michael
Heseltine mounted a scathing attack on Johnson for “leading his troops to the
sound of the guns then quitting the field of battle”!

The further spectacle of Nigel Farage resigning as UKIP
leader is yet another example of the unwillingness of the “Leave” campaigners
to take responsibility for the Brexit negotiations and their consequences.

To quote Stanley Baldwin, three
times British Prime minister back in those far off days of the 1930’s when Britain
was still a Great Power, the principal Leave campaigners have achieved - “... power
without responsibility — the prerogative of the harlot through the ages.

Following Gove’s back-stabbing of Johnson we are, of course,
all enjoying the spectacle of the Tory leadership contest and also watching the
Labour Party tear itself apart. It would
be great fun if it wasn’t so serious!

Listen to Ken Clarke’s candid “off the record” comments, in
which he dismisses the idea of Michael Gove as Prime Minister and discusses the other leadership candidates with Malcolm Riffkind.

The Leave campaign’s lies and back-tracking on their undeliverable
promises are not, however, at all funny! Neither is their characteristic bluster about a bright future outside the EU!

They have created a climate of uncertainty that will affect
the country’s prospects for inward investment and employment for a decade and also probably provoked the break-up of the UK!

Monday, 4 July 2016

Who
would have predicted that Gove would stab Johnson in the back? There again he
has done the same to his friend David Cameron, so I suppose it should have been
expected. Govedoes not seem
likely to poll enough votes from MP'sto
get into the final two, who will be put to a vote by Tory Party members; it seems likely that the second place slot will go to
Andrea Leadsom.

Theresa
May does appear to be the safest choice for the negotiations with the EU but she's no charismatic Margaret Thatcher (more a British Angela Merkel) and was almost absent from the Remain campaign. Perhaps she was hoping to take advantage of the chaos that she knew would erupt after the result, whichever way it went. Nonetheless maybe it's time for a more realistic female approach instead of one lead by idealistic male dreams and fantasies!

There's
lots of comment even in the tabloids about the lies that were told by the Leave
campaign, particularly thebattlebus
£350 million a week lie. The biggest and most dangerous lie of all wasblaming
the lack of school places, social housing, healthcare etc on migrants. This
was a masterstroke, worthy of the worst demagogues of the 20th century and has
already given rise to an increase in racist
attacks against EU migrants. The real reason for those strains in public
services is aggressive Tory austerity cuts, but Corbyn was incapable of
countering the Leave campaigns slick slogans.Corbyn is a disaster for the
Labour party! The country needs an effective opposition to rein back the Tory right
wing and tell some truths that stick, otherwise look at the mess that they create!Corbyn, for all his honesty and idealism,
is totally useless as a political leader! Having lost the support of two thirds of his MP's he should go quickly, and not tryto hang on patheticallyin the hope of
being rescued by his £3 party voters in a leadership election that could not re-establish him as leader of the Labour Party even if he won!

He goes
on to accuse the Government of manipulating public opinion! Well he should
know! And he calls for the public to be told some basic truths – not, of
course, based on the opinions of the experts that he and Gove rubbished during
the leave campaign but on his own unverified unilateral assertions. Are we
expected to take him seriously! This man appears to be out of touch with
reality, but as a columnist he doesn’t need to believe in and stand by his
statements because he will probably need to write something more interesting
next month to retain his well paid post! You don’t sell newspapers by
being boringly consistent!

Thank you Michael Gove, for taking away from Johnson the possibility of being Prime Minister, and effectively ruling yourself out, at least this time round!

Sunday, 26 June 2016

I have now moved beyond the shock of
the Brexit result into anger, although an uneasy, slightly nauseous, feeling remains.

I'm angry at the Tory right and at
Cameron for giving in to them, for allowing a referendum and creating a
situation which will lead not only to withdrawal from the EU but also to the
breakup of the UK. He will be remembered as the politician who made one of the
biggest mistakes of the last 100 years, alongside Neville Chamberlain and
Anthony Eden!

I'm also angry with Corbyn, with his
virtual absence from the campaign until the last few days and his lukewarm 7
out of 10 endorsement of the EU. He may be honest but he's no leader. With his
half-hearted campaign he has betrayed his own electorate by paving the way for
the most right wing government since the eighties. The economic reaction to the
uncertainty, reduction in investment, a drift away from the “UK” by businesses,
lower activity generally and higher unemployment, will all result in a
recession and lower tax receipts followed inevitably by further austerity
measures and public spending cuts by a government that will relish this
opportunity to impose their dogma. All of this will impact on the poorest and
the lower paid. With half his shadow cabinet about to resign Corbyn's on his
way out, but too late!

Apart from Nigel Farage the Leave campaign
team didn’t seem to be relishing their victory.
It’s much easier to win a battle than to take responsibility for
rebuilding from the rubble, but if Farage has his way the destruction will
continue, because he will try to unpick the last forty years of EU inspired
legislation whether good or bad.

I hope that you’ve read my previous
blog about Boris
Johnson’s lying and dissembling. With his turbulent personal history and,
as a proven liar, he should not even dream of putting himself forward for Prime
Minister. He’s just totally unsuitable for high office and he won’t be able to
joke his way out of the embarrassing interviews and press articles that will
come later. I'm waiting for an
"anyone but Boris" petition to sign. I've already signed a petition
calling for independence
for London (where I used to live) and another petition calling for a second EU referendum.

The UK will be blamed for every EU crisis
that arises. I don't accept the proposition, that the EU will get on with
reform in our absence and that Britain will be the sacrificial lamb that
enabled it to happen. France and Germany are already talking about closer integration
with more harmonization of tax and social protection. They just don't get it,
and without us they will have nobody shouting in their ears that this is not
what the people of Europe want! We stood a better chance of reforming the EU
from within. Our sacrifice is needless and will achieve nothing positive.

The country has never been so
divided; between young and old; rich and poor; between England and Scotland;
and between England and Northern Ireland. Great Britain is almost certain to
fragment into “Little England” and Scotland as separate nations and who knows what
Northern Ireland and Wales will do?

With almost all important world leaders, apart
from Putin, and also those responsible for financial institutions like the IMF
and the World Bank, telling us we should remain in the EU, a large
proportion of English voters put up two fingers in a protest vote ultimately
against their own best interests. Most were
voting about immigration concerns whipped up by the right wing and foreign
owned tabloid press. One of our acquaintances gave as a reason for
voting Brexit that "he didn't like the way they looked at our women".
Since he wouldn't be able to tell an eastern European from an Englishman by
looking at him, I can only assume that he was referring to the many Asians from
his home town, none of whom would be removed by Brexit.

As well as being worried about the possible
effect on my pension funds and investments, I have the certainty that a
lower pound will reduce our pension income, which is converted directly into Euros.
There is also the likelihood that our Statepensions will be frozen and not
increased annually because this rule was applied only to UK expats living
in the EU and certain other countries with which bilateral agreements have
been established.

I voted remain and I hope that all
those who voted for leave will enjoy seeing their wealth and their employment
opportunities diminish.

Saturday, 25 June 2016

Of course we all know that Boris, in his time as the
Telegraph’s Europe correspondent, made his reputation by inventing Euromyths
about straight bananas and one size fits all condoms etc.; in effect creating
the Big Euromyth which he has now used to pull the UK out of the EU; but when I
saw this interview with Chris Patton I was surprised that he was able to call
Boris Johnson a liar so directly and without any risk of legal proceedings for
slander.

I investigated further and discovered that Boris was sacked from the Times in 1987 following a story in which he fabricated a quote from
his godfather, an Oxford academic, who was ridiculed for Boris' inaccuracies.

But the most revealing episode of his character so far has been in a recorded
telephone conversation with Darius Guppy,
one of his Old Etonian chums, in which he agreed to get the address of a News of the World
journalist, Stuart Collier, so that Guppy could arrange an assault intended to
scare him off investigating a fraud case in which Guppy was involved. This took place in 1990 when Johnson was the Daily Telegraph's Europe correspondent. In an
interview with Eddie Mair, Johnson subsequently denied that he had done anything
wrong and said that he was just humouring his friend.

Judge for
yourself whether he was asking Guppy questions about how much he was going to
hurt Stuart Collier in order to humour him.

Government
ministers have had to resign for far less than any single one of these
escapades and yet Boris is still being considered as a potential Prime
Minister. We are now in a period of
post-truth politics in which skilled individuals, who are good at saying what
people want to hear, whether it is true or not, can rise above reasonable and
sensible discussion and get away with it.